U.S. Constitution/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby. TIM: “Dear Tim and Moby, I need to know what’s in the US Constitution. From Jake.” Tim reads the letter he is holding in his hand. TIM: The Constitution is America's plan for government. It lays out how the US government works and how we all fit into it. A man, Tim, and a robot, Moby, are standing next to each other facing the camera. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: The framers of the US Constitution tried to create a flexible way to govern that would take the country into the future. An image of three men with several silhouettes forming a crowd behind them is shown. The man on the left is wearing a green jacket and is holding a quill in his hand. The man in the middle with his hand on his waist is wearing a black coat and a white shirt. The man on the right is wearing blue and has his arms behind his back. TIM: The Constitution is based on seven principles: popular sovereignty, republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, limited government, checks and balances, and individual rights. An animation uses the American flag as the background and adds the mentioned seven principles to the screen one at a time. MOBY: Beep? The scene changes to show Moby frowning. TIM: Yeah, I'll explain them. Popular sovereignty means that the people rule. An animation shows a paper with writing on it. Only the header is readable, and it is “We the People.” The text “popular sovereignty” is shown on screen. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, it’s not like direct rule, like, I can’t do whatever I want or create a law, but “we the people” elect representatives who make the laws. The animation continues to show the paper and closes in on the header. TIM: That’s one of the principles of republicanism. Moby is standing next to Tim as Tim addresses the camera. The text “republicanism” appears on the screen. MOBY: Beep? Moby again has a sad look on his face as he turns toward Tim. TIM: Democrats? Tim looks at Moby. TIM: Oh, no, it just means that the United States is a republic. The people exercise their power by voting for political representatives. The scene changes to show three pairs of legs visible below the curtains of voting booths. TIM: Federalism is a way of governing that shares power between the individual states and the nation as a whole. An animation adds the map of the United States to the screen. The text “federalism” appears in the top-left corner of the screen. TIM: The Constitution gives delegated powers to the nation and sets aside reserved powers to the states. An animation first removes the state borders and adds the text “delegate powers” to the screen. As the text “reserved powers” replaces the previously shown text, the state borders are added back to the map of the United States. TIM: For example, the federal government has the power to print money and declare war. An animation shows a big circle labeled “Nation.” Within the big circle are two smaller ones showing a dollar bill and a tank. TIM: No state can do those things on its own. And individual states have powers to establish schools and make new marriage laws. An animation then adds a second big circle labeled “The States,” which has two smaller circles showing a building and a newly wedded couple. TIM: There are also some powers that both the nation and the states share, like levying taxes. An animation then zooms in to show the intersection of the two big circles. A small circle appears and shows a piece of paper with “1040” as its header. TIM: These are called concurrent powers. Of course, neither the state nor federal governments are allowed to enact laws that violate the Constitution. An animation the adds the text “concurrent powers” underneath the small circle within the intersection of the two big circles. TIM: Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the Constitution split up the government’s powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The scene changes to show Tim. The background is black, and an animation adds three images of the White House representing the executive branch, the Capitol building representing the legislative branch, and the Supreme Court building representing the judicial branch. Each of the images is labeled with the branch they represent. The text “separation of powers” appears on the screen. TIM: The separation of powers ensures that no one branch of government will have too much power. The legislative branch, which includes our representatives in Congress, makes the laws. A simple drawing of a group of people sitting in rows in front of two men on a podium is added and labeled “Legislative.” TIM: The executive branch, which includes the president, enforces the laws. A second drawing of a man in a suit sitting behind a desk is shown and labeled “Executive.” TIM: And the judicial branch, which includes the court system, is in charge of interpreting the laws. The third image shows a group of people wearing gowns and is labeled “Judicial.” TIM: A system of checks and balances makes sure that the branches of government work together in a way that makes sense. The three images are still present on the screen as the text “checks and balances” appears in the top-right corner of the screen. TIM: Congress passes a law, but the president can veto it. An animation shows a hand moving a piece of paper across the table. Another hand holding a stamp then stamps the paper. The stamp reads “Veto.” TIM: Even if the president says okay, the Supreme Court might come in and say that that particular law violates a principle of the Constitution. An animation shows a hand moving a piece of paper across the table. Another hand holding a gavel then hammers the paper several times. TIM: So, no one branch of government can do a whole lot without the okay of the other two. An empty tabletop is shown. TIM: The idea of limited government is intimately linked to the other principles. Tim addresses the camera. Moby is standing behind Tim and is holding a jar of cookies in his hand. TIM: In a limited government, the government only has the powers granted to it by the Constitution and nothing more. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: If it tries to grab new powers, it’s acting unconstitutionally. The framers limited the power of the federal government through the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. The scene changes to show Tim’s face as he addresses the camera. TIM: They also limited it by granting all citizens individual rights that the government can’t take away. These are outlined in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The scene changes to show a paper with writing on it. The text “Bill of Rights” appears on the screen. TIM: They include freedom of speech, the right to a jury trial, freedom of assembly, and protection against unfair searches. An animation displays four images, one after the other. The first image is that of a mouth open in a smile. The second shows a group of people sitting in two rows on the stand labeled “jury.” The third image shows a circle displaying a crowd of people, and the fourth image shows and old pistol. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, that's the thing about the Constitution. The scene changes to show Tim in the foreground and Moby standing behind him. Tim addresses Moby. TIM: Amendments can be proposed to it, and if they pass a very rigorous approval process, they can become part of the Constitution itself. Tim addresses the camera. The text “amendments” appears on the screen. TIM: The US Constitution is a living, evolving document that can change with the times while still holding to the principles upon which the United States was founded. As Tim continues talking, an animation adds a waving American flag as the background. TIM: Whoa. Tim turns and looks at the waving flag behind him. MOBY:Beep! TIM: You've written your own constitution? The scene changes to show Tim addressing Moby as Moby is holding a piece of paper with writing on it in front of him. MOBY:Beep. TIM: I think you're missing the point. The scene changes to show what Moby wrote on the piece of paper. The header of the paper reads “Moby’s constitution,” and the only sentence below it reads “Moby is always right.” Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts